Monday, April 15, 2019

How long was Philip suspended?

In Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel by Avi, Dr. Palleni, the principal of Harrison High School, suspends Philip for two days. The conversation about the suspension starts on page 75.

I offered to get him out of this business by coming back and apologizing, but he won't. Two day suspension.

Philip's suspension starts on Friday, March 30th and ends on Tuesday, April 3rd. The principal states that he wants to give Philip "a long weekend to think it out."
Philip doesn't do anything that bad—he only hums the national anthem in class—but he admits that he was trying to create a disturbance and it was his second offense of the week. The school rules state that they have to suspend any pupil that is sent to the principal twice in a week.
The suspension leads to a chain of events that has a negative effect on everyone involved. Miss Narwin, the teacher involved in Philip's suspension, is forced to leave her job, and Philip is forced to enroll at another school.
The story finishes with Philip's new teacher asking him to sing the national anthem. Philip has to admit, "I don't know the words."

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...